Annual fireworks festival held in Tokyo

Jul 28, 2019 | News On Japan

Jul 28, 2019 (NHK) - About 20,000 fireworks were set off at an annual festival along the banks of Tokyo's Sumida River on Saturday evening.

"Sumida River Fireworks Festival" is held on the last Saturday of July, attracting some one-million spectators.

Families and groups of young people wearing traditional "yukata" summer kimono cheered and took photographs as fireworks shot up into the sky.

The fireworks this year formed images related to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the new era "Reiwa" that started on May 1st.

A woman from Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, said the beautiful fireworks were simply amazing. She added she wants to come back next year.

With the 2020 Tokyo Games just one year away, police stepped up security. About 6,500 people, including members of the organizing committee, private-sector guards, and local residents, guided viewers and patrolled the area.

The one-and-a-half-hour event finished without major problems.

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